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Trump in Palm Beach: More than 300 people protest TPS decision

Union workers from Miami to Orlando make their way across Bingham Island as they protest the arrival of President Donald Trump to the West Palm Beach area Tuesday at the intersection of Southern Blvd. and Washington. Damon Higgins / Daily News

Posted: 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 21, 2017

There is nothing left in Haiti for Marie Parfait Paul.

The 58-year-old single mother of six has lived in Miami for the last 15 years, working as a dishwasher for $9 an hour. Her husband left her and her parents died in the 2010 earthquake that rocked the island.

But if the Department of Homeland Security upholds its decision to rescind the temporary protected status for her and 50,000 other Haitian immigrants, she will be forced to leave.

Paul and more than 300 others marched from West Palm Beach to the eastern-most point of Bingham Island where they could see President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, to protest the Trump administration’s decision Monday night to end temporary protected status. The protection, which was provided to Haitians after the 2010 earthquake, will terminate July 22, 2019, giving Haitians under TPS an 18-month period to return to Haiti or face detention and deportation. Under the law, TPS could be granted to eligible Haitians who were already in the U.S.

“I think this was one of the most high-profile actions today in reaction to TPS,” said Unite Here spokeswoman Rachel Gumpert. “I hope (Trump) takes some time to reflect on what this will mean to the 50,000 Haitian families that will be impacted by this.”

Unite Here — a labor union that represents hotel and hospitality workers — teamed up with other groups such as the Florida chapter of The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to bus in families from Miami, Orlando and Tampa to take part in the rally that was designed to get as close to Mar-a-Lago as possible.

Jean Vilner Isma traveled almost four hours on a bus from Orlando with his wife and children to participate in the protest and fight for his rights.

“We need the (residency) for the immigrant people,” he said. “We’re here for work and a good education.”

His young daughter attends school at John Young Elementary School in Orlando, but the whole family would be deported if the TPS decision goes through.

That’s not enough for the protesters who want to be able to stay permanently. The group walked along the sidewalk, making sure not to block traffic or break any laws, and chanted things such as ”What do we want? Residence. When do we want it? Now” and “If we don’t get it? Shut it down.”

Officers from several different local police organizations guided them along their protest route and stopped them at the edge of Bingham Island where they could clearly see the president’s winter White House beyond the trees.

The protesters stayed there chanting for about 20 minutes before heading back across the bridge to West Palm Beach.

As they moved back across the bridge, the protesters passed two Trump supporters who countered their chants.

But the protesters were pleased to see all the people come out in support.

Manes Joseph also came to the United States after the earthquake that devastated his home country. A Delaware North Corporation employee who works at the Fort Lauderdale airport, Joseph said the people need to unite in support of TPS.

“We don’t want to go back. We have a house here. We live here,” he said. “We don’t have nothing there. We can’t go back.”

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